Theremin Musical Instrument

The theremin musical instrument is best known for creating the spooky or eerie sounds heard in many 1950s science fiction films. It is a unique instrument being "played" without being touched.  This electronic musical instrument is named after its Russian inventor and physicist, Professor Leon Theremin, who patented the device in 1918 (or 1919).

The controlling section consists of two metal antennas that sense the position of the player's hands. It then controls oscillators for frequency with one hand, and the volume (amplitude) with the other, therefore,  played without being touched.  The electric signals from the theremin are then amplified and sent to the loudspeaker and heard.


The structure of the theremin.   Two antennas protrude from the theremin - (1) a controlling pitch, and (2) the controlling volume. As a hand approaches the vertical antenna, the pitch gets higher. Approaching the horizontal antenna makes the volume softer. Since there is no physical contact with the instrument, playing the theremin in a precise melodic way requires practiced skill and keen attention to pitch.


About Leon Theremin, the inventor.  In the early 1920's, Leon Theremin came to the U.S. to promote theremin. He was given a studio to work in. He also trained musicians to introduce theremin to the public. Unfortunately, in 1938, Leon Theremin was taken back to the Soviet Union by force, leaving behind everything - his studio, wife, friends, and business.  After a stay in a prison camp, it's reported that Leon Theremin worked for the KGB as a designer, including methods for cleaning up noisy audio recordings.

The theremin in music and film.  The theremin was originally intended to play classical music and even said to replace an entire orchestras with its "music from the aether."  It didn't quite happen, but it has been used in many recordings over the years. Several big band conductors featured the theremin in numerous specialty albums in the 60's and 70's. Then it slipped back into obscurity until its revival in the 1990s.

The spooky sound of the theremin was used in several movie soundtracks. It provided background mood music for such sci-fi classics as The Day the Earth Stood Still, playing a serious musical role, and It Came From Outer Space, as well as in well-composed classic, particularly in thriller soundtracks like Alfred Hitchcock's psychological mystery thriller Spellbound and Billy Wilder's disturbing effects of alcoholism in The Lost Weekend.

In 1993, Steven M. Martin produced a film documentary entitled Theremin: An Electronic Odyssey. The film, featuring rare footage and interviews with music industry legends,  provides an in-depth look into the history of the theremin (the invention) and Leon Theremin (its inventor).




Resource:

What's a Theremin?    Accessed 27 December 2012.

Image Credit:

Theremin Instrument,  en.wikipedia.org. Accessed February 25, 2013


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